Video tutorial: Killer licks with Paul Gilbert part 1

Shred-meister Mr Gilbert presents an interesting string bending idea

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Paul Gilbert

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The lick is almost a mirror image of itself. Essentially, you bend the same distance for each string but in the opposite direction. In the second lick, the bending should be slightly easier in this area of the fretboard. Try moving the lick around the neck in different keys. It also works quite well on the first and second strings.

Killer licks with Paul Gilbert part 1

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The lick in context - In true Gilbert style, our maestro demonstrates the lick in a fast blues context. Although this is based around A Dorian (A B C D E F# G), it works really well over a bluesy chord progression.

Killer licks with Paul Gilbert part 1

This is the first in our series of guest video lessons from Paul Gilbert. In this episode the venerable Mr G demonstrates how a simple idea such as string bending can be mutated to yield some pretty special results.

The technique involved is similar to a blues lick often used by Hendrix, but it's notoriously difficult to execute. Unlike normal string bending where your fingers usually stay on the string in question, this lick requires a roll from one string to the next.

Basically, bend up the second string and, once at the top, roll to the adjacent third string. The difficulty lies in the second note, as you need to bend the second and third strings simultaneously so you can bend the third string down once you hit it. Because you're bending strings that lie next to each other, you should bend with an upward movement to travel in the direction of the next note.

Most of your practice should be centred around executing each of the bends with as minimal an amount of noise as possible as you travel between the strings. If you are experiencing real difficulty with the finger roll, it may help to try and think of the third finger moving in a rubber stamp motion. There should also be some forward movement in the wrist.There's more information about Paul on the official Paul Gilbert Website.